


Dystopian Splatoon: Time to Play Hero!

by Mei_Jasmine



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Agent Pixie, Cerise - Freeform, Gen, pastel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-03 12:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14568927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mei_Jasmine/pseuds/Mei_Jasmine
Summary: Agent 4 went on a mission to help Marie infiltrate the Octarians and recover the zapfish for Inkopolis' power source... but went horribly wrong.Now Marie needed to find a new agent for her organisation. How will this turn out? What happened to Agent 4, and what will happen to them next?Short chaptered fic. All art and text made by yours truly.





	1. Enter the New Agent!

**Chapter 1: Enter the New Agent!**

  


 

"Another day of work done."

  


Cerise sighed and then leaned against her cozy swivel chair as she looked at the wide table in front of her - full of various musical equipment used to synthesize and edit raw music.

  


This is her job - she mainly works as a music programmer for various bands such as Wet Floor and the like. She gets along with them well, although she's not exactly the "social" type to always want to be around people. Most of the time she finds herself alone like this, in the solitude of her own musical work... and she loves it.

  


Her phone, which was right in front of her on her desk, let out an alarm. She checked on what it might have been.

  


"Oops. I have a photoshoot scheduled for tomorrow." she said, and then sighed. "Then finally, a day off. I can't wait."

  


She's also a part-time model in her time, for Toni Kensa. She was discovered after Wet Band decided to advertise for the said fashion designer in their one gig. Cerise worked on the sound technicalities in the backstage, but she often appeared on-stage as well for assistance.

  


The fashion designer saw her and thought she would have made a great model, even if it was just for part-time. She accepted the job, not seeing anything wrong with it. She has a fairly good relationship with her talent agent.

  


That was when she heard a knock on the door of her workspace. She swiveled around and just stared at it, waiting for someone to speak.

  


...

  


"Cerise?" called out a not-so-familiar voice.

  


"Yes?" Cerise answered, while she tried to process whose voice it could have been. She's heard it before, but she was sure she wasn't too familiar with it.

  


"May I come in?"

  


She was about to answer snarkily like, ' _well can I say no?'_ , but she wasn't closely affiliated to the person. She doesn't even know who she was? If she did that, what, feeling close? So she answered decently and called out that her door was unlocked for the guest to enter.

  


"Hey." the guest let herself enter.

  


Cerise was quite surprised, she didn't expect this guest to come to her. She knitted her brows in curiosity.

  


"Yeah, it's me, Marie. You know, from the Squid Sisters." Marie giggled a little. "Staaayyyy fresh."

  


There was a slight sadness as she tried to do her signature move she used to do with her cousin Callie.

  


Come to think of it, she hasn't seen the Squid Sisters on air in a long time. She's always wondered what happened to them, but always forgot to ask her co-workers about it. Now that one of the sisters were here, she could not help but wonder about it.

  


"What can I do for you?" Cerise asked as she still sat from her chair.

  


"I need your help." Marie said.

  


Cerise thought something sounded different. This didn't seem like a typical request for music mixing. She asked again, "For what?"

  


"Have you heard the news?" Marie asked.

  


"..." Cerise thought long and hard about it. She hasn't been up to date with the news, and all she ever looked at recently was her work. She's horribly out of date, but she may have seen it a couple of times before but forgot.

  


"I need your help." Marie said again. "And this concerns you, too."

  


Cerise raised a brow. She tried recalling the little news she has seen. "How does it concern me?"

  


Marie spoke in a calm, but firm manner. "Well... since I'm dragging you in this. Allow me to introduce myself more properly. I may be a pop star, but I am also Agent 2 of New Squidbeak Splatoon, and I currently need more manpower in our organisation."

  


"... Why are you telling me this?"

  


"Well for one, the Great Zapfish has gone missing... and some other zapfish too. If we don't retrieve them, we won't have power in Inkopolis. That means we can't work on any of our... I don't know. Music programming?"

  


Cerise sighed at this, sounding a little exasperated... and probably insulted. She decided to get back. "And I suppose you won't be able to host your own shows more than ever, if you ever thought of making a comeback."

  


"... I like you." Marie giggled at the comeback.

  


The pink squid just let out a small chuckle at this, seeing they're probably on the same level of snark. They decided to take it easy.

  


"Okay, go on. I'm listening." Cerise sounded interested in what she had to say. She stood up and took another swivel chair so Marie can make herself comfortable.

  


Marie continued. "The Great Zapfish is missing, so we need to retrieve it and all other zapfish that help provide power to the city. The Octarians have taken them from our investigation but we need more manpower. And..."

  


"..." Cerise listened intently. That last "and" sounded quite ominous.

  


"Apparently, one of our men got squidnapped." continued Marie. "And that's why I'm here. Our Agent 4... a new member, was taken away. We need her back."

  


"Huh?"

  


"I'll help you, but I figured someone familiar with her would have understood how to get her back better. Through negotiation... or anything!"

  


"..." Cerise squinted her eyes. "Who is Agent 4?"

  


"... It's Pastel. Your friend Pastel."

  


"..."

  


There was awkward silence in the room for what felt like forever. Neither dared to speak, until Cerise herself decided to break the silence.

  


"That idiot??" the pink squid reacted. Her voice is usually sultry and composed, but at this moment she sounded like she just lost all composure. It was hard to tell if she was worried, or angry, or disappointed, or all of the above.

  


"Yes, that idiot." Marie agreed. She didn't even try to do anything, but just let her vent out.

  


Cerise rubbed her temples and looked at Marie again. "That idiot is my friend and my programmer. Let me guess. You enticed her with pizza to do your work."

  


"You know her very well." Marie shrugged.

  


"What's she gotten herself into now... as if I don't have enough worries as it is." Cerise sighed exasperatedly.

  


"... So... you agree to help us out here?" Marie held out a hand.

  


The pink squid started regaining her composure again and she gave Marie a handshake. "Deal. Let's just get this over with."

  


Marie nodded at this and then smiled. "I knew you'd understand. When I found out I had someone to help me again, I made sure they had good clothes that weren't hand-me-downs."

  


"Excuse me?"

  


"You deserve better than that."

  


"..."

  


"Come on. And don't worry about your jobs, I'll just tell them I borrowed you for a few days."

  


Cerise huffed at this. "'Borrowed', huh."

  


"Yes... and when we get to Octo Canyon, I'll give you all the gear and briefing you'll need for this mission."

  


The two left the music room and headed out for the said place, to be able to get ready for another shot at infiltrating the Octarian army with a new agent at hand. The two eventually arrive, and Cerise awaited for Marie to get everything prepared.

  


"We will provide you with everything you'll need. We have funds for that." said Marie and then she showed different kinds of weapons and clothes for battle. She gave brand new clothes to Cerise; the Hero suit, akin to what past agents had worn, but with a touch of elegance to it. "Yeah? We found out you were a model for Toni Kensa so we asked him to design it a little."

  


"Wait, really? He knows about this organisation?" Cerise looked quite surprised about this.

  


"Yeah... sometimes he provides us with some gear, but he's not in too deep in this. He just makes clothes, that's it." Marie shrugged. "Now... what shall we call you? You can't be Agent 4 anymore... hmm."

  


"I don't really plan to stay too long in this organization. I have two jobs... remember?" Cerise strutted over to her and donned the hero suit. She fixed herself up as she talked to the more experienced agent. "But if you must give me a codename, I guess you can call me Pixie."

  


"Agent Pixie, huh? I like the sound of that." Marie nodded. "Very well. This time around I'll be your eyes and ears. I'll stay here to make sure that no other Octarians come in to get you. Don't worry; I'm sure you'll do fine. If you need any help, I'll make sure that I help you find a way out."

  


"Copy that." Cerise grabbed her weapon of her choice; a splat charger. She unintentionally struck a pose; it must have been natural for her to do so, as she was a model after all. She turned to Marie and saw the other just staring at her. "... Hmm?"

  


"... Nothing." Marie shook her head. "Now go. Good luck, Agent Pixie."

  


Cerise donned her spy mask and went right in, hoping the best for her first-ever mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This serves as a warmup for me after not writing for a very long time. Now this is a very spontaneous fic, so I hope I am doing this right as I have never really played any Splatoon game in my life... but the game has me interested from afar.
> 
> I hope you like this!
> 
> My original characters that will be featured here are part of my original series, Paradoxical Gateway as well. A futuristic series about Dystopia and Utopia.  
>  (Hence the title, "Dystopian Splatoon")
> 
> (Cerise has yet to make an appearance in the said original series)
> 
> Please give it a look!  
>  https://paradoxical-gateway.tumblr.com/


	2. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The infiltration begins... and Agent Pixie sees what the Octarian base has in store for her.

**Chapter 2: Infiltration**

 

****

  


"Agent Pixie, do you copy me?"

  


"Loud and clear, Agent 2. State your business."

  


"No need to be so formal, Agent Pixie."

  


Cerise was walking around the halls, looking for the portals she could use to transport herself further in the Octarian base. She has gone through the entrance for a few minutes now, but still hasn't done much progress than splat away some pesky Octarians trying to bring her down.

  


She observed the place - it looked rather... dark, and industrial, compared to most places she has seen in Inkopolis. Of course, she hasn't really paid much attention to the sketchier parts of the city, but still...

  


It was a rather spacious base with lots of room to hide in to take a break, and that's exactly what she did when she proceeded to have a longer conversation with Marie to strategize things over.

  


"So what's the plan now, Agent 2? What do you see?" Cerise asked as she hid behind a box. "Would you rather this be a stealth mission?"

  


"This isn't Metal Gear, Agent Pixie. No need to stress yourself over getting detected as long as you can splat them." Marie responded.

  


"Okay, good. So am I heading the right way?"

  


"Yes. Just keep going - you have a direct path to go through. No forks, no alternate paths, just keep going."

  


"Roger that."

  


Cerise came out from behind the box and started splatting some Octarians from afar with her charger. She couldn't let them too close, lest she not be able to splat them with the kind of weapon she has at the moment.

  


"So you're more of a range splatter?" Marie said as Cerise went along with her mission.

  


"I don't like getting too close." said Cerise. "It's more fun to splat things from afar anyway; they never know what hit em and you just snicker from where you're at."

  


"I see." Marie responded. "Very well, but you'll be given different weapons in this mission depending on your situation. Don't worry, I'll brief you on the more unfamiliar ones."

  


"Roger."

  


Cerise charged her weapon and splatted some more Octarians in the proceeding room. Thankfully with every other Octarian she defeated, they dropped power eggs behind. She picked them up and the other agent spoke to her through their intercoms.

  


"Those are power eggs. I'm sure you know what they are by now, right?" Marie called her.

  


"Yeah? But I think I'd like a refresher course."

  


"Power eggs are used to improve your weapons. We haven't upgraded yours yet since we're short on supplies, and some of the more advanced weapons we've had were over with Agent 4... and you know what happened to her."

  


"Yeah, I'll make sure I splat all her pizza with my ink when I get her back."

  


"She deserves that."

  


"Yeah."

  


"Anyway, if you have upgraded all your weapons then in theory you can use them as some sort of currency, or barter trade, or something. I haven't tried it out for myself mainly because I don't use power eggs other than weapon upgrades."

  


"Interesting." replied Cerise after she listened intently. "So how does it taste?"

  


Marie sounded like she was in apparent disbelief over the other line. "Ex... cuse me?"

  


"I'm a little hungry over here not having my snacks after work and I was wondering if I could eat them for health boost."

  


"Agent Pixie, I haven't tried that out for myself and I don't think it's advisable to eat them raw unless you want an upset stomach. You wouldn't want ink to come out from _that_ end, do you?"

  


"Right."

  


They decided to cut the conversation on that til then. She decided to keep the power eggs for upgrades instead of having to eat them. Besides , it looks rather unappetizing on its own. She decided to focus on the mission at hand.

  


Sometimes, when she'd find herself in a pinch, she would turn herself into a squid and try to look at things in a different perspective. While doing this, she could find herself randomly reminiscing about the times she wasn't able to take control of her squid and kid form. It was relieving to get past that, and she remembered seeing kids have the same problem and she'd giggle at them.

  


There were many obstacles she had to face on her way; the Octarians wanted to dispose of her, and felt more aggressive the farther she went. It was a long way to get herself to the top where she can have an overview of the industrial maze she was treading in.

  


She finally came across a place she could rest and recuperate before proceeding. She stood atop a high point in the base to observe her surroundings better.

  


"Agent Pixie, I believe there's a portal over there you can use to proceed further." Marie started up again from her intercom.

  


"I know. But I'm just looking around for any suspicious signs. Agent 2, I feel... watched."

  


"You're supposed to feel watched. I'm watching you from the radar and you're in the enemy base."

  


"No, I mean... it feels different. It's like it's just watching me from afar but not making a move. It feels ominous. Do you see anything on the radar?"

  


"..." Marie paused for a while. "I checked. I don't see anything. Are you sure you're all right?"

  


Cerise looked around the base once more; a vast, dark-looking industrial base, feeling so cold and foreboding with its sense of false security and eerie silence. She turned her back and went to the portal that could transport her further into the base.

  


As she went through the rest of the base, she eventually found herself in a more eerie part. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something amiss.

  


"Hey, Agent Pixie!" called out a different voice from the intercom. It was different, but none too frightening. "I'm Sheldon. I'm the weapons specialist, by the way, so you can talk to me anything about it if you have questions!"

  


"Hey, Sheldon. Thanks. Where's Marie?"

  


Marie came in the line. "I'm here. Miss me?"

  


"Well, I really just don't have a choice but to talk to you about this mission, right?" Cerise replied as-a-matter-of-factly. "Do you guys see anything suspicious beyond my point? It looks like I have to catapult myself over there... it looks like... an isolated arena?"

  


"Hmm..." Marie seemed to pause for a while. "As a matter of fact... yes. Sheldon, isn't this the same place Agent 4 went through?"

  


"Yeah, but I know she cleared that area."

  


"It should be safe to go there. I don't see any negative energy." Marie backed up.

  


Cerise transferred over to the other side by hurling herself with the mechanism to transport her there as a squid. She transformed back to her normal form and looked around. In front of her, she saw a zapfish calling out to her with its small cries.

  


"Agent... Pixie! ... careful..."

  


"Agent 2, I'm losing you!" called out Cerise. She was about to approach the zapfish when she saw something rise from the ground. A... tentacle? Yes, it was a tentacle. It rose from a puddle from the ground. It reached out for the zapfish and drew it in the puddle.

  


That was when the ground rumbled and the pink squid had to keep herself in balance for what was to happen next. What happened next was quite expected, but nevertheless a slightly surprising inconvenience. Up from the puddle rumbled a gigantic tower, and its column was full of baking ovens with faces. It was a bizarre thing to see.

  


"Agent Pixie, my radar is messing with me." Marie called from the other end of the line. "It's giving me false signals!"

  


"This is the Octo Oven... don't worry, Agent Pixie! We can help you with this one. Just keep inking it til its bread comes out from its oven. You can splat its tower to get to the top and attack the tentacle!" Sheldon gave her tips.

  


"That's how Agent 4 dealt with it. We'll be here for you! You can do this, Agent Pixie!" Marie rooted up for the agent on the field.

  


Cerise huffed and decided her current weapon wasn't enough for her current enemy, so she shifted to dualies instead even if she was more comfortable with longer-ranged attacks. She splatted it all around and did as she was instructed.

  


The enemy looked like it weakened over time, so it kept its offense worse by each phase. Sometimes Cerise would get herself hurt, but Marie would tell her where it was most convenient to approach the monstrosity.

  


It didn't take too long for her to finish off the boss which... was a surprise to her. The boss splatted itself all around the arena as it was defeated, then she was able to rescue the zapfish it had gotten to power itself up with earlier. She assured the zapfish that it was safe, and she had set it free from the nearest opening of the base. Marie said that it knew where to go and that there were no worries.

  


She was prepared to go deeper in the base, but she could not help but wonder about how easily she had defeated the enemy. It was definitely strange, given that her combat skills were nowhere near great unlike some others who were actual fighters. It was almost as if the enemy was weakened beforehand, on purpose.

  


"Agent Pixie, you did great." Marie called from the other line once more. "I'm surprised you're still alive."

  


"Yeah? I was surprised by the amount of puns you let on earlier." Cerise responded.

  


"Heh."

  


Cerise went silent and was still from where she stood, as she tried to continue with her line of thought which... needlessly led her to nowhere.

  


"Agent Pixie, is anything wrong?"

  


"I... Agent 2." Cerise couldn't help but think out loud. "Agent 2, something was strange about that fight. It was as if it was weakened by something... may I ask how long ago Agent 4 was squidnapped? And how has she dealt with the enemies here, exactly?"

  


"Hmm." Marie gave it some thought. "Agent 4 was confirmed to be missing a few days ago. We thought it was just signal failure on her part, but as soon as she didn't return to base, we knew something was amiss."

  


"Agent 4 dealt with that gigantic Octo Oven the same way you did! But in the course of the few days Agent 4 took care of it, it should have recuperated pretty quickly, given the zapfish were there to help them recuperate..." Sheldon added.

  


"That's right. And DJ Octavio is still in that base causing havoc, and he still has the Great Zapfish. So... yeah. Your point was valid and well-taken. Why is it that weak?" Marie thought out loud.

  


"Maybe it hasn't eaten?" Sheldon raised a point.

  


"Maybe? You can't fight on an empty stomach. I guess that's why Agent 4 was so energetic and high on pizza." Marie agreed with him.

  


"I was surprised that she could finish a whole box on her own. I mean, she's so small! I was expecting her to finish 4 slices at most."

  


"You're one to talk."

  


Cerise couldn't help but raise a point. "The first time I met her was recruiting her to be my programmer. People were attempting to hack my account so I asked her to take care of it. In return, I promised her as much pizza as she could eat."

  


"..."

  


Everyone fell in dead silence after Cerise's started relating her story, as if awaiting what more there was to it.

  


"... I thought I was going to be bankrupt. I don't know how many stomachs that little weirdo had." Cerise concluded her story, with an exasperated tone.

  


Marie couldn't help but laugh from the other side, as well as the tiny weapons expert. They couldn't say anything but laugh as Cerise went on to continue her mission after the boss fight. She had herself transported to another part of the base, even deeper into enemy lines.

  


Cerise started again, her voice unmoved. "And from the extended laughter I'm hearing, I could tell how deep your sympathies are, you little-"

  


"Sorry, sorry." Marie tried to calm down. "But at least you didn't go bankrupt, right? You still have a job and Wet Floor's agency is still paying you decently."

  


"Yeah, there's that." Cerise shrugged at this and equipped herself with her main weapon, the charger, once more. She observed her surroundings again - it feels darker and eerier as she went deeper inside, wondering how Octarians live their life in such an environment.

  


Whereas inklings had the luxury of living in a comfortable, well-powered metropolis, Octarians were confined to this kind of lifestyle. Honestly, she hasn't seen Octarians of any sort living the life they were, and she thought it rather sad.

  


Her mind wandered off to thoughts like... why did they even have to fight? Everyone wants peace, but nobody wants to help contribute to promoting it.

  


She shrugged. Perhaps it was something they got from the humans they disposed of.

  


Cerise straightened up herself, made sure her spy mask was worn properly, and readied her weapon for another round of splatting her way to the core of the base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me someone got the reference I put somewhere in that chapter. Haha.
> 
> It's a bit of a challenge having to write down the Hero Mode, given my limited knowledge and thinking of how to write it down without it dragging with unnecessary details or extremely short descriptions.


	3. Encounter with the Octo Lady

**Chapter 3: Encounter with the Octo Lady**

  


"So why did you and Callie disband?"

  


Cerise was walking around the Octarian halls, trying to find a way out with her own radar. There didn't seem to be many enemies around, and the farther she went, the lesser they became. She decided to take this advantage to talk with Marie on the other end of their walkie-talkie.

  


"Oh... that." Marie sounded slightly gloomy hearing Callie's name. "We just didn't think things worked the way they used to anymore. It was a little sad, but we decided to go our own ways. I just didn't think she'd go missing like this."

  


"That sounds sad."

  


"Yeah..." Marie sighed. "I just hope that she gets found. We're arranging a search party as soon as we get those zapfish back. We need that power for a successful search, you know."

  


"Yeah. I wonder where they kept the Great Zapfish?"

  


"I guess it's with DJ Octavio."

  


"DJ Octavio?" Cerise didn't seem to be awfully familiar with the name. "Who's that?"

  


"Oh. I guess his name isn't popular with outsiders. He's the leader and brains behind all of this scheme. I wouldn't be surprised if Callie's disappearance is linked with him somehow, but that's too far of a stretch to assume."

  


Marie sent a few mug shots of the DJ through their radar.

  


"I see." Cerise responded. "So I have to look out for this guy, huh?"

  


"Be careful. He doesn't like 'slimy little hipsters'."

  


"I'm not a hipster, though." Cerise remarked with a slight chuckle.

  


The two were just talking as Cerise continued to walk and blast through the halls of the Octarian base. She reached a point where there were no Octarians walking about at all, and she thought all this rather eerie. As if the dystopian feel of the base wasn't enough to send slight chills down her spine, now she's all alone.

  


"You know, you never know how important something or someone is til everything's gone." Cerise remarked as she brisk walked through the place. She was a little creeped out, but she'd never admit it.

  


"Why the sudden quote?" Marie giggled.

  


"Having you around had never been so relieving. It's so empty here. Don't you see anything on your radar? Are they about to ambush me?"

  


"Oh you~" Marie giggled at this. "I don't see anything on the radar, by the way. Now that you mention it, this is rather strange. Keep on your toes, Agent Pixie... I don't like the look of this."

  


Cerise grunted slightly as she tried speeding her way through the empty corridors, portals, and platforms. She was actually wishing for some enemy Octarians to show up... Octotroopers? Octosnipers? Anything! Just as long as she wasn't all alone like this.

  


"Agent Pixie?"

  


"GYAH!"

  


Marie couldn't stop laughing from the other end of the line, to which Cerise only growled at slightly.

  


"I was in deep thought, okay? Don't surprise me like that! Ugh, you're just like Pastel!"

  


Marie couldn't stop laughing. "Oh, Agent Pixie... you're so cute."

  


"... Ex... cuse me?" Cerise reiterated.

  


"..." Marie cleared her throat. "Anyway, I called your attention to tell you that there's still nothing for about a kilometre's worth of radius... but..."

  


"But...?"

  


"..." Marie paused for a while, as if she was studying something from where she stayed. "Be careful. I see a point of energy source on my map, and it looks organic. There's someone there... and they're staying still. I don't know if this is another one of those Octobosses..."

  


Cerise flipped her hair. "I'll be alright. Thanks, Marie."

  


"Sure. Just bring yourself out in one piece, okay? Honestly I'm surprised you're still alive."

  


"I took up a little training from way back. I'm a little rusty, though."

  


"No, I mean... how do you fight in heels? I know your heels are wedged, but still. Isn't it hard to fight in those?" Marie asked, her voice full of curiosity.

  


"If you walk in these everyday, you could swear it was already a part of your body." Cerise tried to explain.

  


"I guess you're right. Not everyone's used to wearing kimonos on a daily basis, and yet here I am." the white squid replied.

  


The two continued to talk to pass the time as the agent made her way through the base. She saw to it that she found out what that source of energy that Marie pointed out was. It could lead her to something deeper in enemy lines, and that's what she was intending to do.

  


"Hey, Agent Pixie?" Sheldon called out from the radar as well.

  


"Yeah?"

  


"Are you doing alright back there? Any new weapons you need to know about?"

  


"Well..." Cerise gave it some thought. "Not really. But I guess I'd be fine talking about it when I get back home. I'm not too knowledgeable in all of them."

  


Sheldon cheered from the other line. "Sure thing! I'd be more than happy to talk about it!"

  


"Oh... now you've done it. He won't stop talking about it when you get back here." Marie chuckled.

  


"That's okay. Little guy deserves it for helping me with all these weapons." Cerise smiled.

  


That was when Cerise finally approached the point in the radar's map where there was an energy plot. She looked around and found some sort of isolated arena once more, similar to the Octo Oven's stage. She felt wary as she saw the arena was full of ink... and that somebody was indeed there. They were standing and...

  


"Marie, are you here?" Cerise called up the radar as she looked at the figure from way afar.

  


"Huh? No, I'm still on the lookout from the canyon base. That's a strange question."

  


The "somebody" was apparently holding up a parasol... but unlike the squid sister's green parasol, it was a hue of scarlet, and the person... or whatever that was, was turned away from her line of sight. She took a deep breath and transported herself to the lone arena once more, in her squid form. She landed and went back to her normal form and tried to study the figure from a few meters away.

  


The figure seemed to have noticed her presence, and so they turned back to look at the agent.

  


It was another person... an... Octoling?

  


It was an Octoling indeed, dressed up in a floral, silky red kimono. Her hair was gathered in what looked like a bun and a ponytail, and she looks quite aged, but still gorgeous. She looked at least ten years older than the pink agent.

  


"And who are you?" asked the Octoling with her deep, sultry voice.

  


"That's what I should be asking you." Cerise said, her weapon low.

  


Now that she thought about it... the arena was full of dark red ink. Did it just come from this lady? No trace of magenta ink anywhere... just where were those Octarians? They were probably in hiding to back this lady up, and she'd be in big trouble if they were, given she was all alone.

  


The red Octo faced her completely. "The name's Aneira. And you, Inkling?"

  


"They call me 'Pixie'." Cerise decided not to give out her name. That WAS the main objective of having codenames, right?

  


"Pixie, huh? You definitely look like one. Listen up, Pixie. I don't want you going any further from this point on."

  


"Tough luck, cherry blossoms." Cerise flipped her hair and strutted a few steps closer. "This is my business and I can't have you stopping me."

  


"You look stubborn. Too bad it's not of good use."

  


"I'll be the judge of that."

  


Aneira grabbed the tip of her parasol's handle and then drew out... an Octobrush? It seems like the parasol itself was its sheath. It looked like a very short Octobrush, just short enough to do your regular calligraphy with a giant-sized brush.

 

  


She pointed the brush at the pink agent's direction.

  


Cerise could tell the woman was serious about this. She readied her weapon and started walking towards her a little closer, albeit cautiously.

  


Aneira pressed a button on it and it grew in size. It was still quite smaller than your regular Octobrush, but it was big enough for a proper battle.

  


"I took care of that washed-up samurai. I'm not going to take it easy on you, pink-head."

  


"Bring it, old maid."

  


"Yeowch." Marie remarked from the other line.

  


Aneira cautiously stepped backward, then quickly dashed for the agent with her paint brush. She tried to splat the agent with her ink to subdue her, but the agent quickly evaded.

  


"Agent Pixie. I haven't seen this Octoling before. Be very careful. I'm still studying her moves." Marie sounded serious for once. She sounded genuinely worried putting the agent in this situation.

  


"Her weapon is interesting though!" Sheldon remarked. "It looks like she has a very quick discipline... I've never seen anything like this! Let me watch her a little more too. I could think of something!"

  


Cerise ran around to try and study her opponent. She would sometimes get herself splat, but she hid in her own ink should she get splat a little too much, to avoid getting dissolved in enemy ink. She does not want to end up the way her friend Pastel did.

  


"Hiding, little Inkling?" Aneira called out, her brush sheathed in her parasol.

  


"Agent Pixie, her style of fighting is very unusual. But this is what I gather." Sheldon started. "She has a very quick style of fighting. Her attacks involve her quickly drawing AND sheathing her brush for attacks, maybe for maximum ink power. I'm willing to bet all her ink power is in that parasol."

  


"Got that."

  


"She can also seem to use her parasol as an assist to attack you. It doesn't look like it's like our splat brellas but... be careful, she could use that for non-ink damage."

  


Cerise grabbed her rifle and aimed at Aneira, but the older one shielded herself with her parasol when that happened. The inkling decided to run around again, and try to look for a hole in her strategy somewhere. The octoling was definitely very agile and aware... she looks like a very seasoned fighter, and to be quite honest, Cerise was intimidated greatly by her.

  


She splatted along the floors and decided to use her camouflaging to her advantage. She was able to land a few splats on Aneira, but none too fatal for her to retreat or dissolve.

  


"You're good for a fighter with no training, I'll give you that." said the red octoling. "But you're no match for me."

  


She fished out the pink squid from her pink ink and slammed her down on her red ink. This forced the inkling to revert back to her form and scramble away before she...

  


"Agent Pixie!!!!!" Marie cried out.

  


The pink agent dissolved, but quickly respawned. She gasped for air when she did though, just a few feet from her opponent, who was standing still with her brush in her parasol sheath.

  


"You... you'd better not get in my way." Cerise growled, her voice lower than normal.

  


"Prove me that I shouldn't." Aneira stood still, her icy cold eyes fixated on the squid.

  


Cerise turned into a squid again to go through her own pink ink, to which Aneira kept a close eye on again. She did some distractions, such as leaping from puddle to puddle. The older octoling kept a close eye on her and put up her parasol as a shield when the squid was about to jump on her.

  


... False alarm, it was just ink. Cerise appeared from behind her and charged her weapon so that it directly hit the woman in the kimono.

  


In fact, it was a big splat that the woman almost dissolved in her ink, but she didn't. She was able to recover and she called for the agent to stop.

  


"What is your business here, Pixie?" Aneira called her with an authoritative tone, her weapon down. She eyed the agent to do the same.

  


The agent obliged. "I'm here to get the zapfish and look for my missing friend."

  


"Missing friend?"

  


"Yes."

  


Aneira raised a brow at this. "Is that all?"

  


Cerise shrugged. "And maybe get that octo king."

  


The woman sighed at this and then sheathed her Octobrush completely, and she used it once more as a regular parasol. She was the perfect combination of a poised, elegant woman, but with the strength and wit of an femme fatale.

  


"I see. Then I guess I'll have to go my way." Aneira started to walk away.

  


The pink agent remembered something. Aneira said she took care of that "washed-up samurai". She decided to ask the woman about this.

  


"Hmm? Oh. Octo Samurai. He's nowhere as good as my rival, to be honest. My rival has a school of his own and has proven worthy to be my direct opponent. But Octo Samurai? Even my students are much better than him, and they're years younger than him." Aneira scoffed at this.

  


"Wait... she's..." Marie remarked from the radar. "She's against the Octarians?"

  


"What...?" Cerise looked puzzled.

  


"Yes, I'm an Octoling. I'm Octarian. But that doesn't mean I'm for them." Aneira faced the confused inkling once more. "If I had a choice, I would never step foot in this again... but..."

  


"Why are you really here, Aneira?" Cerise sounded serious... and concerned.

  


"..." the octoling sighed. "Octavio is holding my students hostage."

  


"E-Eh?"

  


Both Cerise and Marie sounded concerned about this. So that means... this Octoling was a defect and...

  


"Octavio wants me back in his force, so he blackmailed me into going back by holding my students hostage. But... not one of us wants to work for him anymore." Aneira shook her head. "My kids and I want a peaceful life away from this place. But because of my reckless decisions... here they are."

  


"... Do you know where they are?" asked the agent with a hushed voice.

  


"No. I'm looking for them. I don't know where Octavio could have been keeping them and... I really don't want to know what he'd do with them if I were too late."

  


Cerise turned around and whispered to Marie in her radar.

  


"Agent 2, what do we do now?" she asked.

  


"Huh? What do you mean? We help her, of course, while retrieving the zapfish. Remember, she's Octarian too, and if she hates Octavio that much then she could give us more direction in this mission."

  


"Hmm... alright, let's see what we can do." Cerise turned back to the samurai lady. "Aneira."

  


"What is it?"

  


"Do you think we can look for our missing companions together?" Cerise suggested. "And we can even go to this Octavio guy and make him pay for what's he's been doing."

  


"... What have I got to lose, anyway." Aneira shrugged. "I just want my kids safe."

  


"And I just want my friend safe." Cerise nodded. She put her hands on her hips and grinned a little. "I guess it's settled then. We go through this, and we find that Octavio guy and make him eat his own ink."

  


"Gross." Aneira looked repulsed.

  


"Do you have any idea where Octavio could be?"

  


"Yes. He's at the heart of this base, but of course to get there, we have to get through his line of defense." the red octopus nodded at this. "I know a shorter route though, so just follow my lead."

  


"Agent Pixie." Marie called out to her. "Be careful. Like I said, we help her... but I'm still wary because she's still Octarian in her own base."

  


"But you were so excited to help her earlier." remarked Cerise.

  


"Yes, I know. And that was careless of me... just promise me you'll be safe, okay?"

  


"That's a promise."

  


Marie seemed to let out a refreshed chuckle on her end. "I'll count on it. Now go, you have to go find more zapfish and Pastel."

  


"Gotcha."

  


Cerise and Aneira teamed up as they went through a portal together to transport them even farther down the dark base...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Aneira makes an appearance! Who'd have thought a rebel Octoling would brave herself in her own base?  
> Now that the two are together in this journey to the big boss... what would happen next? Stay tuned!


	4. Mutual?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter which is quite short, but an update nonetheless! Thanks for staying tuned! ♥

**Chapter 4: Mutual?**

  


The two women walked deeper into the vast Octarian base as they cleared all obstacles standing in their way. Cerise relied on distance and target precision, while Aneira was more of a swift melee fighter that also required precise splatting attacks.

  


Basically nobody was a match for these two strong ladies who wouldn't stand to let anything get in their way.

  


... Not even each other.

  


The silence was almost too much to bear between the two. Not counting battle strategies while on the field, the two hadn't really talked to each other.

  


Aneira was walking ahead to a nearby portal when she decided to break the ice.

  


"I know you don't trust me, Pixie. But neither do I, towards you."

  


Her tone wasn't exactly reassuring. She turned back to face the younger lady, her icy blue eyes giving her unspeakable chills down the other's spine.

  


She still managed to talk, despite the ominous feeling she's had with the octoling.

  


"I know we don't trust each other. But we don't really have much of a choice now, do we?" Cerise defended herself. "If we fight, neither of us will find what we're looking for."

  


"That's true."

  


"Agent Pixie?"

  


... It was Marie. Due to the earlier tension, Cerise almost forgot that she had actual company in this mission, and not just the forced companion that was Aneira. She sighed in relief and replied to the Squid Sister.

  


"Yeah, I'm still alive. Thanks for checking up on me." Cerise couldn't find the heart to confess how reassuring Marie's presence was at this time. All she knew is she wanted this over with.

  


"Pixie. Who is that on the other line, anyway?" the taller woman walked over to her... too close for comfort, and started inching towards her headphones.

  


"W-Whoa whoa, wait! Stay back!" Cerise backed away and found that she just backed herself to a wall. She grunted and reached out for her charger, but the other was too quick for her. Aneira grabbed her wrist and examined her from head to toe... which made her feel intense unease.

  


"..."

  


"What?! Let me go!"

  


Aneira grabbed the headset and examined it. "Hah. So you ARE working for Squidbeak."

  


Cerise shook herself free from the other's grasp, now that the other was distracted. "Yeah, what of it?!"

  


"'What of it'? They're our mortal enemy. Countless times, they tried to infiltrate us and bring us down to ruin. And countless times, they've failed. Do they think sending a diva like you would settle everything?" Aneira threw the headset back to the pink agent.

  


"If it works, then good. If it doesn't, then whatever." Cerise shrugged and put her headset back on.

  


"They don't care about you." Aneira sighed. "No organisation does. Not the Octarian Army, not Squidbeak. I suggest you run and abandon this mission."

  


"Wh... that's not true! Agent Pixie, we do care about you! I..." Marie was shocked that this new dame would suddenly antagonize them.

Cerise took a deep breath. "Listen. Whether or not these organizations care about our well-being, I have to get through this. One, because of YOUR Octarian Army, we're going to lose Inkopolis' power. And two, my friend's life is at stake... I do care about her... no matter how idiotic she is."

  


Aneira just stared at her, with her parasol open and resting against her shoulder and bosom. She seemed intent to listen to the reasoning of the younger woman.

  


"So excuse me, but I have work to do. If you won't help me, then that's okay. I could have made it this far without your help anyway." Cerise huffed and made her way to the nearest portal... but the other stopped her by folding her parasol and seizing it in front of her way.

  


"You never told me about your friend." said the older woman. "Who is she and what exactly happened?"

  


"..." Cerise glared up at her. "If you want to know that, then tell me about your students first."

  


"... Fine."

  


The two decided to settle behind some wooden crates, just a few ways away from the portal. They took a few smaller boxes to sit on while they conversed. There were no Octarians in sight, and Marie did confirm there weren't any incoming ones. She decided to listen in the conversation of the two as well.

  


"My students... Dawn, Dei, Mido, Teri, Dusk, Eva, and Midni. All seven of them were taken by that revolting octopus who thinks he's in with the youth." Aneira growled, trying her best to remain composed. "He specifically sent me a message to come and rejoin the army so that he'd spare them but... I don't want to, like I said. And neither do they."

  


Cerise and Marie listened intently to the older woman. It feels like she was telling the truth; the pink agent could see a hint of genuine emotion sparkle in her icy blue eyes which they thought was devoid of any emotion.

  


"Mess with me, and I may let you pass. But never mess with my students. They are my family." the samurai woman gripped her parasol tightly.

  


"Agent Pixie, put me on speaker." Marie instructed.

  


"Huh? ... Oh. Okay."

  


The pink agent did as she was instructed and the Squid Sister started to speak to the red samurai.

  


"Aneira, right? Aneira, I know I may just be another pop star whose opinion you may not want to hear. And that's okay. But let me speak just for now, alright?"

  


"I'm listening."

  


Marie took a deep breath before she continued. "It must be hard to lose your students in his hands, but we mustn't give up. Aneira... we've all lost something, but we can all get it back. Inkopolis lost zapfish. Cerise lost her friend, and we lost an agent. I... I lost my cousin. And we still couldn't find her."

  


"If I may suggest, I wouldn't be surprised if Octavio has her." Aneira replied.

  


"That's what I thought! But I didn't want to jump to conclusions. I just want her safe." Marie said. "But the point here is this; we need to work together. Okay? It doesn't mean we have to like each other, but for the sake of professionalism and common goals..."

  


Cerise was left quiet all this time. She couldn't believe how Marie sounded so... professional. And genuine, for once. Is this even Marie??

  


"I get you." Aneira nodded. "Don't worry. We're deep in this, and we can't go back now."

  


"Thank you for understanding."

  


Aneira looked at the silent agent who was listening all this time. "She's got a good head on her shoulders."

  


"Yeah, that's for sure." Cerise agreed wholeheartedly about this.

  


"Why thank you, Agent Pixie~" Marie giggled from the other line.

  


Now the pink agent had her face as pink as her hair and she turned off the speakers so that Marie wouldn't let out embarrassing remarks in front of the red samurai.

  


"So, I told you my story. What's yours? Who's this friend of yours, anyway?" Aneira raised a brow at her companion.

  


"Well, you see... she's my hacker friend."

  


"..." Aneira just stared at her; she seemed deathly quiet. Was she actually interested in her story? Hmm...

  


"So okay, she's Agent 4 of this mission. But since she got herself kidnapped, I guess it wouldn't hurt to say her name. Her name is Pastel, and she-"

  


"Pastel??" Aneira reacted quite violently.

  


"...?????" Cerise was taken aback by this reaction.

  


"She's..." Aneira seemed to rub her temples. "She loves pizza and wants to marry pizza. Is that the same person?"

  


"YOU... You KNOW her?!" Cerise couldn't seem to believe it.

  


"What has she gotten herself into..."

  


They were all dumbfounded by this. Earlier, they were feeling so uneasy but... they seemed to have established an unspoken connection through their careless friend. They spent the next few moments talking about the squidnapped agent.

  


"Her love for pizza is as strong as her programming skills. She's still a kid, and she could very well be my child if I chose to." said Aneira, who looked a little more relaxed.

  


The squid sister was back on the speaker. "I remember her talking about pizza. And you know, I kinda told her she was cute? But she seemed to care about nothing but pizza! Seriously! I was a little ticked off."

 

  


"She made holographic dresses for pizza so she can marry them before eating them." added the samurai. "We met and there are thirteen of us? And we're kind of looking for this place called Utopia. So you could say we were bound by fate."

  


"Utopia?? That's crazy!" Cerise reacted. "Nobody's even proved it existed!"

  


"And nobody's ever proven it never existed."

  


"Okay, I'm confused." Marie interrupted. "But yes, I've seen her holographic dresses. What a dork."

  


"She really is. I almost went bankrupt because of her. I mean, how does she fit all that pizza in her body?! She's so small, and... does she have like, four stomachs in there?" Cerise couldn't seem to hold her feelings in.

  


"I love how we're shit-talking Pastel here and just seemingly agree with everything." Aneira sighed.

  


"Yeah, it's like our mutual feeling for how weird the little weirdo is, is all that we needed to sort of... establish, some weird connection."

  


"True..." Marie replied. "Well, now that we have that established. Guess we can go on and find her?? And your students, of course, Aneira."

  


"Yes."

  


The samurai stood and seemed to regain her more intimidating aura. "Cerise, go to this portal. I'll go to another one so we can take care of these Octoweapons at the same time. I'll meet you at the portal that leads to Octavio's stage, alright? You won't miss it. Marie can track you and tell you what's ahead."

  


"That I will." said Marie. "Don't worry, Cerise. Your life is in my hands."

  


_'I don't really know if that's supposed to sound reassuring...'_ Cerise thought to herself.

  


"And here." the older lady gave her a piece of paper with numbers on it. "I looked at your headset earlier and found that you could use it as a radio transistor too. That's my frequency number so we can communicate. I have a small radio chip myself."

  


"Huh... alright. See you later then, Aneira. Stay safe." Cerise nodded. She grabbed her weapon and took a look at the samurai lady fleeing off to another direction, as she stepped into the portal that led to another part in the base.

**Author's Note:**

> This serves as a warmup for me after not writing for a very long time. Now this is a very spontaneous fic, so I hope I am doing this right as I have never really played any Splatoon game in my life... but the game has me interested from afar.
> 
> I hope you like this!
> 
> My original characters that will be featured here are part of my original series, Paradoxical Gateway as well. A futuristic series about Dystopia and Utopia.  
> (Hence the title, "Dystopian Splatoon")
> 
> (Cerise has yet to make an appearance in the said original series)
> 
> Please give it a look!  
> https://paradoxical-gateway.tumblr.com/


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